Dayglow Chats First Official Album And Career Switches

Interview and photos by Isabel Dowell

Graphic by Rebekah Witt

Sloan Struble, professionally known by his stage name Dayglow, has been taking the indie music world on a whirlwind of fun with his bright personality, extravagant visuals, and unique sound that meshes a multitude of genres. Despite Struble being the face of Dayglow, he has regularly traveled and performed with a full band since beginning the project in late 2017. 

Now, seven years later, Dayglow has released his first official album, Dayglow, after a slew of singles and mixtapes, and is touring to promote the LP and share his sound with a majority of North America. With each show, Struble has customized a signature white tee with puns reflecting the city’s name—i.e. Mexiglow, What People Raleigh Do, Glow Rapids, etc.—adding to the fun Struble brings to each and every show. With support from Sun Room and Teenage Dads, Dayglow the Tour is making waves across the continent to showcase that Dayglow has officially found his true artistry. 

Despite his busy schedule, Struble chatted with Kinda Cool about Dayglow, playing to audiences across North America, and the excitement still on the way!

The Tour isn’t your first headlining tour, but it is your first tour with an official album out. How does this compare to previous shows where you relied on mixtapes and singles to fill your set?

I mean, it’s hard to say it feels totally different. My past albums have been so important to me and still are. This record just felt like the first time I made something without “trying to be something,” you know? It felt so organic and like my first record as a fully grown adult. I definitely feel more confident and sure of myself than I ever have, and it's been so fun seeing fans who have been supporting me since the beginning still showing up and singing songs from every record.

This seems like your longest run of consecutive shows thus far in your career. Are there any places you were particularly excited to stop in?

Yes, it totally is. I love the weird towns in between. I love off days. I’m actually writing to you from Salina, Kansas, which I never knew existed before today. So it's always fun to be somewhere totally random for a couple of days.

For each date of the tour, you’ve customized a white tee with the city’s name and a Dayglow-inspired pun. How did you come up with this idea to become your tour wardrobe?

I just thought it would be super fun! I noticed people on TikTok adding “Glow” to other words in my comments and just thought that was fun. I think blue jeans, red shoes, and a white shirt is a perfect outfit, too.

You’ve mentioned that you view this album as a debut for Dayglow. How does this era of music differ from those in the past? What feels new or different?

I think I just feel so much more aware of myself, and I’m not trying to hold on to the idea of making this explode more than it has. I’m just really content and feel confident for the first time that I am truly just a musician making music and that’s what I love to do.

What song on the album do you believe truly defines this switch in your career? 

“Mindless Creatures,” for sure. I wrote this song when I was 15 and released it on SoundCloud years ago, but tons of fans knew about it. It just feels like a full circle moment, going back to the basics and rewriting a song from my childhood. It's super personal to me, which this record is entirely.

Many of your mixtapes in the past have the right amount of songs or listening time to be an album, so why did you wait until your self-titled to officially call it an album?

I mean, they are all albums. I think this record just felt like it should be self-titled because I hadn’t really made a record that felt like I had introduced myself as a person yet. I am Dayglow, and this album is fully without any external concept attached.

How does your Dayglow identity differ from Sloan Struble?

I’ve realized lately that it doesn’t at all! It’s pretty seamless. It's just the name of the art that I make.

You’ve mentioned in previous interviews that you don’t typically experience writer’s block. Why do you think that is? What do you do if you find yourself stuck on finishing a particular song?

I don’t have any issues making catchy songs over and over, but nowadays, AI can do the same thing. I’m very artistic and musical, but that doesn't make a song worth listening to. The songs I release have to have a story to them, and they have to feel like they mean something to me, and that's not something you can ever force or time out. They kinda just come unexpectedly, and you have to be ready when they do.

The visuals you use to express Dayglow’s music are always very vibrant and go above and beyond the typical music video. What is your process in coming up with these ideas and how do you feel they help to convey your artistry?

I usually have an idea for the video when making the song, and it tends to be a pretty low-budget concept of one single idea or visual trick that is extrapolated across the entire video. I’d much rather have a video fit a vibe/era (for lack of a better term) than really tell a story. My music is very narrative and full of substance when you listen closely, but I want people to have the option to just dance to it if they want to as well. 

Thanks to the push of TikTok, your single “Can I Call You Tonight?” has over 630,000,000 million streams. With the way that social media is constantly changing, do you feel like you’ve gotten a grasp on the algorithm of success?

Absolutely not! I have no idea really how to do it, and that used to scare the hell out of me. But now I’ve just realized it's out of everyone's control, not just mine. So I just focus on making stuff that I love and think is cool/funny and leave it at that. I hope people like it, but I can’t control if they do anyway, so might as well make things I like!

As we near the end of the year, do you have any plans to finish out 2024? Or once your tour is over, will you already be thinking about 2025?

These two years will definitely blend for me. I hope to be as busy as I can playing shows and being out in the world! I’m so here for it and stoked for what's to come.

Despite being a musician for most of his life, Struble has officially found his true authentic self within Dayglow. As a fan who has seen Dayglow perform a number of times, each show gets bigger, better, and more full of life. There is not a single artist that enjoys being on stage and sharing their sound more than Dayglow. While many of his most memorable sounds come from previous mixtapes and released singles, Sloan Struble and Dayglow will continue to make crowds dance for years to come.

Keep up with Dayglow on Instagram, Spotify, and his official website.